The story of Michele Bachmann‘s surging campaign momentum continues, this time courtesy of Beltway reporter Mark Halperin of Time magazine:
Why has Michele Bachmann suddenly become the It candidate?
With her impressive New Hampshire debate performance, Bachmann has gone from a conservative Sarah Palin-lite curiosity to a potential game changer. For two hours onstage with her GOP rivals, Bachmann appeared polished, serene and in command. Her smooth performance was partly the work of a top-shelf team of veteran advisers (manager Ed Rollins, pollster Ed Goeas, forensic coach Brett O’Donnell). They sanded down some of her rough edges but let Bachmann be Bachmann, complete with zinging anti-Obama applause lines and sunny-side-up conservatism.
Halperin gave some advice on what Bachmann needed to do to keep things going:
Most of all: avoid the kinds of gaffes, misstatements, self-promotional moments and wacky behavior that would cause the media and many traditional Republicans to–once again–write her off.
Huh. Remember that this was a debate where her economic plan boiled down to calling for certain government agencies to be abolished– especially the Environmental Protection Agency, which she called the “Job Killing Organization of America.” That didn’t cause the media to write her off–or most voters, either, since they mostly didn’t hear about it.
Or when she said:
The Congressional Budget Office has said that Obamacare will kill 800,000 jobs. What could the president be thinking by passing a bill like this, knowing full well it will kill 800,000 jobs?
This is, as you might expect, not true. But maybe it qualifies as “sunny-side-up conservatism.”
It’s not just Halperin, though. Time columnist Joe Klein writes:
Bachmann is often linked with Palin as a Tea Party pinup, but she is a different breed of cat: She knows her stuff. She actually gives factual, informed answers. She lacks Palin’s bitter, solipsistic edge. She skillfully framed even her most extreme responses in an amenable way, smothering her opposition to abortion in cases of rape and incest within a paean to the sanctity of life.
If you scan the debate transcript, Bachmann didn’t give many factual answers to any of the questions. (This is probably not all that unusual in a debate.) When she tried to–see above about the 800,000 lost jobs–her “fact” was totally inaccurate. As has been the pattern in the past with her–like when she claimed on CBS there was a study showing 30 percent of doctors were leaving the field due to the healthcare law. There is no such study. CBS viewers didn’t know the truth, and it seems like journalists are unwilling to tell people that Michele Bachmann’s not telling the truth.
“Gaffes” and “misstatements” …
That’s as close as the corpress stylebook can come to saying a Republican – or a Democrat pushing a reactionary policy – is actually lying, isn’t it?
One of the best ways to help the extremists is to let them slide instead of pointing out the errors and out right fabrications. Also running interference for them like judicious editing to make them sound better than they really are.
We’re mildly surprised that nobody asked the candidates about personal military service at the so called “debate”…especially considering the fact that the U.S. Armed Forces have been deployed to SW Asia…& now N. Africa (i.e., to or in the vicinity of Afghanistan/Pakistan, Iraq/Kuwait…& now Libya) since 2001.
So, we guess highlighting personal military service isn’t all that important anymore…at least not to Big Media and the studo audience (probably also mostly nonveterans).
And after all, Mr. Obama has no personal military training either. And we certainly can’t expect Ms. Bachmann to have military service…this, simply because the vast majority of women generally aren’t expected to enter the U.S. Armed Forces.
We’re surprised too, that nobody has yet mentioned that (absent Mr. Paul), the 2012 presidential election will be the first such election in 68 years where not even one of the two major party candidates for constitutional commander-in-chief have formal training in the military arts (in the enlisted ranks, e.g., VP/Gore, or as a warrant officer or commissioned officer).
The last time two such nonveterans vied for the presidency was in 1944 just before the end of World War II in 1945 [when Mr. Roosevelt then died and Mr. Truman (a WW I Veteran) ascended to the presidency].
Unlike 2012…between 1944 & 2008, 80% of presidential candidates were Veterans, to wit:
2012 â┚¬“ P/Obama (b. ’60) v. Romney-Cain-Gingrich-Pawlenty(b. ’60)-Santorum(b. ’58)-Bachmann(b. ’56)-Huntsman(b. ’60) (100% NONVETERANS). Only Ron Paul (b. ’35), has military service as a fligh surgeon. Romney (b. ’47), Cain (b. ’45) and Gingrich (b. ’43) are of the Vietnam War generation (1963-73)…and (like Clinton b. ’46) appear to have used deferments (college, teaching & religious) to exempt themselves from military service.
’08 â┚¬“ P/Obama (NONVETERAN) v. McCain (Vietnam War Vet and long-time tortured POW)
’04 â┚¬“ P/Bush (Stateside Vietnam Era Vet) v. Kerry (Vietnam War Vet)
’00 â┚¬“ P/Bush v. VP/Gore (Vietnam War Vet)
’96 â┚¬“ P/Clinton (NONVETERAN) v. Dole (WW II Vet – severe wounds)
’92 â┚¬“ P/Clinton (NONVETERAN) v. P/Bush (WW II Vet)
’88 â┚¬“ P/Bush v. Dukakis (Peacetime Era Vet)
’84 â┚¬“ P/Reagan (Stateside WW II Era Vet – Hollywood’s 1st Motion Picture Unit) v. VP/Mondale (Stateside WW II Era Vet)
’80 â┚¬“ P/Reagan v. P/Carter (Korean War Sea Vet)
’76 â┚¬“ P/Carter v. P/Ford (WW II Vet)
’72 â┚¬“ P/Nixon (World War II Vet) v. McGovern (World War II Vet)
’68 â┚¬“ P/Nixon v. Humphrey (NONVETERAN)
’64 â┚¬“ P/Johnson (Stateside WW II Era Vet – except for a brief observation flight in the Pacific) v. Goldwater (WW II Vet)
’60 â┚¬“ P/Kennedy (WW II Vet) v. VP/Nixon
’56 â┚¬“ P/Eisenhower (WW II Vet – 5-star supreme allied commander in Europe) v. Stevenson (Stateside WW I Era Vet)
’52 â┚¬“ P/Eisenhower v. Stevenson
’48 â┚¬“ P/Truman (WW I Vet) v. Dewey (NONVETERAN)
1944 â┚¬“ P/Roosevelt (NONVETERAN) v. Dewey (NONVETERAN)
OKJGp┞¢
OKJack┞¢Group┞¢
Middle and Working Class Disabled American Veterans┞¢
We Paid the Dues that Aren’t Required!┞¢
Bachman is nothing but a large pile of foul smelling shit, and the country can’t flush her worthless carcass into the nearest sewer fast enough to suit me.
In Reply to OKJack: I do not consider military “service” as you call it a positive attribute to a canidate. In fact I strongly agree with the following quote:
“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my
contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the
spinal cord would fully suffice. This disgrace to civilization should be
done away with at once. Heroism at command, senseless brutality, and all the
loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism, how violently I hate
all this, how despicable and ignoble war is; I would rather be torn to
shreds than be part of so base an action! It is my conviction that killing
under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.”
I would consider refusal to participate or better yet draft dodging for one of the corporate$$$$
wars (all wars so far are for nothing but money for the wealthy) and lies are promulgated by the
corporate owned press that they are to kill US created “terrorists” or for democracy etc. The USA does nothing but install right wing dictatorships against the will of the people around the globe. Buy a copy of “Killing Hope: USA wars since 1945 to Present” by William Blum and hand it out to your friends in the the foot stomping marching “Patriots” for corporations (the USA military).
the above quote is by Einstein.
CNN: “I support intelligent design,” Bachmann told reporters in New Orleans following her speech to the Republican Leadership Conference. “What I support is putting all science on the table and then letting students decide. I don’t think it’s a good idea for government to come down on one side of scientific issue or another, when there is reasonable doubt on both sides.”
JokeLine: ” Bachmann knows her stuff. She actually gives factual, informed answers.”
Eve at Political Wire: “She thinks Intelligent Design is science. She doesn’t KNOW the difference between science and religion.”
I love articles like this.Basically it is this….Mrs Bachmann is fooling people due to a new set of handlers.She was always miles above that poorpoor Sarah, but now she sounds like it.God im so glad our child man president who is always the most unqualified man in any room he enters, never had- or has had any “handlers”.Or teloprompters!
To quote Robert above…the liberal based arm of this party is a pile of foul smelling shit,and the country can’t flush their worthless carcasses into the sewers fast enough.Thanx for that quote Rob but to be honest…talking like you makes me feel like i just crawled out of a sewer.
Liberalism =elitist rhetoric from pin heads
Damn, Robert, you beat me to it. Thanks for sharing.
Elitist rhetoric from pin heads = Pointing out that Michele Bachmann’s not telling the truth.
Bs did you just insult yourself?Yup you did
Look MB is a great firebrand for this election.So is Sarah(not in it).The right is full of passionate people who believe we are on a path to unsustainable demise of this country and her values.Obama finds himself in the sad place of yelling 4 more years.
a great firebrand = conservatives not telling the truth
That is absolutely your prerogative to believe who is telling you the truth or who is right(and wrong).That is your vote.When John Edwards ran ,I thought him a liar.I always thought Weiner a liar.I always hated Arnold out in Ca.Sometimes you are proven right sadly.I think Obama is less a liar than wrong.At least now.In his run i think he lied his ass off.Sarah i think is very truthful.Mitt …pretty high marks.Ron Paul pretty high.The real question is who is right.I think Obamas reign shows he has not a clue.And in the course of natural movement…the pendulum effect ,it is the next batter up
Want to have a little fun?Look up the worst things(quotes) that have been attributed to congressman Bachman.All the things that sets Dems hair ablaze.Then snopes it.I have been playing this game for about an hour.
Then look at her bio.Law school and the such.And here after reading liberal swill…i thought she was a handi capped child!
Great pic this week of obama fumbling to Open an umbrella for his wife.Then he gets it hung up on a gate top piece as he trys to get it past the iron rung.It is like Charlie chaplan.Funny funny.Next to it is a pic of george bush climbing into his fighter plane with the caption..”who is the moron?”
“Want to have a little fun?Look up the worst things(quotes) that have been attributed to congressman Bachman.All the things that sets Dems hair ablaze.Then snopes it.I have been playing this game for about an hour.”
Actually if you go to Snopes.com and search the word Bachmann you get exactly one match. It’s not about any of her famous quotes. It’s about a letter the Congressional Prayer Caucus wrote President Obama. Took me quite a bit less than an hour to check it out.
PolticFact doesn’t deal with any of her crazier quotes either but here’s their score after checking various Bachmann statements:
True 1
Mostly True 0
Half True 2
Barely True 4
False 9
Pants on Fire 7
FactCheck.org has a post rounding up a dozen+ misstatements, as well
On the other hand, she did say this at an Iowan’s for Tax Relief event on Jan. 23, 2011 “But we also know that the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slavery was no more in the United States. … I think it is high time that we recognize the contribution of our forbearers who worked tirelessly — men like John Quincy Adams, who would not rest until slavery was extinguished in the country.”
The Founding Fathers did not work to end slavery, and John Quincy Adams, who was anti-slavery, wasn’t one of the Founding Fathers…..
—————-
The Obama umbrella photo was taken in September of 2010 and Umbrella was an elective, not a requirement, at Harvard.
Bachmann: “The Congressional Budget Office has said that Obamacare will kill 800,000 jobs. ”
That is a lie. But, hey…. she’s a great firebrand.
So we get to vote on what’s true now? And vote on it? How convenient.
I would guess if struggling with an umbrella in a high wind makes a man a moron, then most of us have been morons at some point in our lives. But if pretending to be a fighter pilot makes a man a moron, I can only think of one example.
Of course, if believing W. ever flew a fighter jet in his life makes a person a moron, there are a number of people who fill the bill… I won’t mention names though. They tend to surface without my help.
Reply to OKJack. You forgot to mention that even though Bachmann is not expected to have military service, she apparently would be qualified to plan on cutting Vet’s benefits.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2011/01/military-michele-bachmann-veterans-budget-cuts-012811w/